1. Field Of The Invention
The invention relates to the field of devices for organizing and maintaining multiple elongated members in an orderly array, especially flexible strands of tubing or wiring. The invention is chiefly intended for use with hospital intravenous tubing, but it may also be adapted for use with laboratory tubing, electrical wiring, cords, cables and the like.
2. Prior Art
A hospital patient is often connected to several different intravenous (IV) tubes, as well as drainage tubes, gas lines and the like. The tubes have various sources and various destinations around and on the patient and are not always distinguishable by their dimensions, coloration etc. Such tubing at best is disorganized due to the profusion of practically indistinguishable tubes, and can easily become entangled, leading to further confusion as to the origin and destination of particular tubes. These multiple strands of tubing, if not kept orderly, will make an unsightly mess and be a nuisance to both patient and medical personnel. Disorganized tubing is prone to catch on passing persons or equipment and can be disengaged accidentally from the patient or the source. In the event of an emergency such as a malfunction or problem at the source or destination of a particular tube, it may be important to quickly identify the tube leading thereto, and to take appropriate steps at the other end of the tube. Tubes may run some distance between an initial source, a flow control mechanism and the patient. A supply of fluid to a particular destination may have to be stopped or started, or varied in flow rate in certain instances. A medication may have to be added to a specific IV line. Some medications and IV agents are incompatible. Mistakes made under pressure can be extremely detrimental to the well being of the patient. Analogous problems can occur with respect to flexible line arrangements other than IV lines, for example electrical wiring.
Devices are known for fixing in place a point along a length of hospital tubing. Such devices typically are designed for attachment to a sheet or bedside, having a base with receptacles for tubes and a spring clip for attaching the base to the sheet or the like. The base is large enough to accommodate several tubes, being thereby unnecessarily bulky if fewer tubes are used in a particular arrangement. The base could presumably be used at an intermediate point along a tube rather than at the bed or at an attachment to the patient's garment, i.e., used to hold tubes relative to one another without using the attachment clip to fix the base in place. Nevertheless, as a practical matter these devices are only useful at the bedside or on the patient, close to the destination of the tubes. This renders the devices more limiting than helpful because tubes which otherwise could be routed out of the way must pass the base. Known tube fixing devices do not enable the tubes to be organized in a versatile manner at any point where two or more tubes come into proximity. Known devices also do not attempt to use the fixing device as a means for ready identification and tracing of individual tubes from any point along their entire length.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,642--Heyman discloses a tube fixing device having a base and tube receptacle as described. The Heyman device provides a pad which can be secured to a sheet or bedside by a spring loaded jaw type clip. A plurality of tubes can be secured to the pad by a piece of tape or a hook and pile (i.e., "Velcro") fastener. Heyman does not disclose a means for identifying the individual tubes. Also, the Heyman device does not allow the easy addition or removal of an individual tube without upsetting the orderly arrangement of the other tubes. Finally, the Heyman device cannot be easily repositioned along the length of the tubes, being limited as a practical matter to a bedside or patient-affixed location.
U S. Pat. No. 4,707,906--Posey discloses a tubing holder having opposed upper and lower faces forming receptacles configured to hold tubing of different sizes, and a spring loaded fastening clip for securing the holder to a sheet or bedside. However, this holder does not identify the tubes, allow easy addition or removal of tubes, or allow easy repositioning of the holder along the tubes.
There is a definite need in the health care field for an organizing device which will overcome the problems of prior art tube fixing devices, allowing a versatile but neat and out of the way arrangement of tubes, and ensuring that otherwise-indistinguishable individual tubes in any number can readily and quickly be traced between their source and destination.